Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has decided that the days of a reporter cozying up to some junior officer at a Pentagon water cooler are over. Is this infringing on freedom of the press… or just plain common sense?
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November 6, 2025
20 Comments
It reminds me of a story about General Kitchener. It may have been when he was Secretary of State for War at the start of WW I, but I think it happened when he was commanding the Anglo-Egyptian campaign to free Sudan from the jihadist forces in 1898 (yup, none of what we see today is new). He was famously peppery and was especially wary and disdainful of the press. One day some journalists approached and asked. “Do you have anything to say to the gentlemen of the press?” He drew himself up to his full 6′ 2” and glared… Read more »
And if their name is Vindman?
Can the press pass on confidential documents and communications when an officer has an agenda?
About our comments. On this or any other topics. I did not know this until recently. Anyone stumbling across BWDC can read all of our comments. For years, I thought out comments were behind the paywall. Since my natural instinct is to automatically log in when I visit BWDC, I never really snooped around the site outside the paywall. Yup, you can read all our comments. Not that we’re or should be embarrassed about anything the good members at Bill Whittle.com post…..stil….. And another thing about BW Membership. Big tents are indeed a double edged sword, no? We have a… Read more »
To be honest, as a retiree, the press cannot be trusted to report accurately what was said to them….why flag officers dislike talking to them (unless they want to undermine their bosses which is chargeable under the USMJ)….when I was active duty, only the Public Affairs Officer did the talking…they knew how to talk to the press. I personally have seen the press do this….totally misquote a flag officer. The press needs to play honorably or accept that they are not trusted….
Next thing you know they’ll shut down press access in the war departments in Russia and China! (I’m clutching my pearls.)
Trump IS destroying the East Wing of the White House. the Whited House belongs to THE PEOPLE not to Trump. Trump is now officially guilty of destruction of government property.
The East Wing has been modified before more than once (e.g., FDR, Obama).
I’m sure that it will be again.
And, Trump is not using tax dollars to do it.
The only part of the East Wing that has been “destroyed” is the facade. The main part of it–the offices or whatever the heck is in there–have not been touched.
And as Rick mentioned, many presidents have added to or remodeled the White House and its grounds. At least this time, the ballroom addition is privately funded and not taxpayer funded.
Please find a news source that actually gives you the news, not opinion or Democrat talking points.
DL would not know relevant/true news if it smacked him in the face, so your request is wasted digital ink.
My God….do you not have a handheld computer to do some basic research? This is not the first time that modifications have been done…
I’ve never been inside the Pentagon, though I did serve in uniform for 20+ years. I have ZERO empathy for the leftist media — and while I can’t quote an actual percentage of the media and its bias, there should be no doubt in anybody’s mind that a significant percentage of today’s media is left-leaning. To Scott’s concern about “who tattles on the evil-doers if the media can’t wander the hallways?”, I might be wrong, but every military organization I was ever part of has an Inspector General. This is where you go when the chain of command has failed.… Read more »
“Lose lips, Sinks ships”, so f#ck the press! Security is a serious business. Espionage is real. Bad actors and enemies that want to see harm on the USA, are very real. “Need to Know” was established for a reason. I had TS clearance for 40+ years. We ALWAYS had visitors under full escort with yellow rotating/beeping caution lights. We had music pumped into the walls, vibrating window panes (unclassified areas only), and underground vaults, within vaults, that were inside of Faraday cages. When asked questions, the proper response was either silence w/a serious scowling stink-eye, or “I can neither confirm… Read more »
I posted this on a PJ Article last week (might have been Steve’s who knows) but every company for which I have worked has had as policy that no one is allowed to talk to the media without express, written approval. If there were any kind of incident: accident, fire, domestic, robbery, big order, lost a big order, etc.; all media content is through approved sources. Failure to comply would result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination for cause. This is not new policy in the US. Seems like after putting all of the brass on notice, Sec… Read more »
I imagine Bill has heard the story of the press complaining in Vietnam that they weren’t being let in on upcoming actions as they had been in World War II and Korea. With the officer replying ‘ back then the press was on OUR side’